The Road Rikku Traveled
by fluffykangaroo
Summary: After the defeat of Sin and Vegnagun, Rikku needs to do something with her life. She's not exactly the 'settle down in one place' type.
1. Prologue

I've read fan fiction for a long time, but I've never actually sat down and written one of my own. So here is a tribute to my favorite couple, my first fanfic.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to FFX-2 except a copy of the game.

**Prologue**

When we defeated Vegnagun, everyone became happy. The eternal calm had come, and happiness could be found all over the place. Spira was safe, thanks to the Gullwings, and life could go on without any feelings of dread or fear. I didn't understand how anyone could be sad. I didn't understand why I was so sad.

After their speech in Luca, Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal decided that for the time being that the best way to keep Spira together was to oversee all of it together, as in they became a counsel as Spira's leadership. Nooj was in charge of the armies and with maintaining the laws. Baralai had the job of keeping the religious groups in check along with making new laws as required. Gippal, now here's a funny one, was in charge of foreign relations and maintaining the peace between nations. Ha!

Later Yuna jumped off the airship and ran to Tidus. I'd never been so excited to see anyone. Even Paine had cracked a huge smile! We landed rather roughly. (Brother was a little upset about Tidus' return.) All of Besaid was celebrating the return of Spira's saviors! As we ran to the crowd they all cheered, even more so when Yuna and Tidus came, running hand in hand.

The next couple of days everyone was in a constant state of celebration. I hoped that the parties would go on forever! There was one special get together though. The three leaders were so busy that the party was a long time coming. All the guardians that were still alive came, along with the Gullwings, Baralai, Gippal, Nooj, and LeBlanc of all people. Pops even had an invitation! It was an exclusive little party for the heroes that made peace at long last possible.

"Hey, kid! It's great to see ya!" Pops gave Tidus a smothering hug.

Tidus patted him on the back, cringing slightly, "I've missed you too, Cid."

There was tons of food and music, thanks to the people of Besaid. None of them bothered to crash our party. This one was for those who'd 'put their lives on the line for Spira' they'd said when we'd asked someone to join us. We, as in YuRiPa, didn't dress up too much. Yuna wore her songstress dressphere. Yuna and I made Paine wear her gunner dressphere instead of her usual warrior one. Afterwards she was very grumpy because we made her leave the guns in the hut. As for me, well, I wanted to wear my lady luck, but Yunie advised against it. Eventually she and I settled for my gun mage, although my gun was left behind as well. I was jumpy and ecstatic over seeing all of my old friends again, one in particular.

"Well, if it isn't Cid's girl! Still quite the party animal I see! May I?" I had been dancing around with Buddy, but Gippal decided to cut in. Buddy didn't mind, even though in my mind I'd been screaming, _"No! Buddy, stay here!"_ He obviously didn't receive my telepathic message. Gippal grinned as he twirled me around, and I couldn't help but enjoy myself.

"I'm just having some fun. It's a good thing you're getting some in, Mr. Leader of Spira!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

LeBlanc had found the two of us dancing absolutely adorable and had to dance with her 'Noojie'. "Hey now, I might have to just pull some strings and have you arrested," Gippal winked at me.

I giggled as Nooj spun LeBlanc half-heartedly, "I would just pardon her."

"That's not fair," Gippal pretended to pout. "You have all the fun, 'Noojie'."

The song soon ended and another began. I looked around and noticed there were a few couples dancing now. I grinned seeing Nooj and LeBlanc, Tidus and Yuna, Wakka and Lulu, and I could hardly believe my eyes when I spotted Baralai and Paine dancing rather comfortably. This song was slower than the last, and I was about to walk away when Gippal grabbed a hold of my hand and pulled me back to him. He leaned close to my ear and whispered, "You can't get away from me that easy, Cid's Girl."

Quite frankly, I was shocked. Sure, we'd had a past, but we were just little kids. Who am I kidding? I get completely flustered whenever he's near me. My words get fumbled and all mixed up if I do more than tease him. That was our thing. He teased me, and I tease him back. His closeness now was causing me to nearly hyperventilate! Besides that I wasn't looking him in the eye, but he brought his hand from my hip to my chin and forced me to look at him square in the face. I could've died then and there. All the times I'd seen him flirting with other girls, all the times we'd fought for real, and the time he'd left without a word to me, all of it came flooding back and hit me with that one look in his lone eye. My hand took his away from my face. It was my turn to lean over and whisper in his ear, though my message was not as nice as his. "Sasuneac yna hela, pid dryd'c ymm drao yna…"

As I backed away from him, he didn't bother to stop me this time. His gaze was focused on the ground as I turned and walked over to my pops. He and brother were fighting again, and I had to laugh, watching their silly argument over who was to get the last piece of cheese. To settle them down, or to make them angrier, I'm not really sure myself, I strolled over nonchalantly and tossed the tiny cube into my mouth. "Mmm….that was some good cheese!" My hands were behind my back as I skipped over to Kimahri and Shinra, leaving behind two very sour Al Bheds.

Shinra looked up at me, "Hi, Rikku."

"Hey, kid! What are you two talking about?"

"We were just discussing putting one of my new devices on Mt. Gagazet. I could use the hot spring as a power source to get the-" I pretty much tuned out there. I had no idea what the little genius was talking about!

In the middle somewhere I interrupted, "That sounds great, Shinra!"

Shinra just nodded, "Yeah, I need to do something now that the Gullwings are no more. So, what will you do Rikku? Now that the Eternal Calm is here there's no more saving the world."

Wait a second. What was I going to do? It was like I was being forced into retirement from being a professional world saver! "Well," I scratched my head with a purple gloved finger, "I've never really thought about it.

Kimahri, who'd been a quiet observer this entire time, spoke up, "Rikku should be happy. Rikku should go and do what make Rikku happy."

I thought about this for a few moments. _The only thing I'm really good at is being a part of a group, going out and completing missions. What else could I-_ "MACHINA! I'm happy fixing up machina and collecting parts for them!"

Kimahri nodded, "If that make Rikku happy, that what Rikku should do."

I grinned, "Thanks a load Kimahri!" Even if he wasn't very affectionate, I was. I nearly knocked him over with a huge hug. "I know exactly what to do now!"

After discovering what I wanted to do, I just needed to find pops to get my new adventure under way! Unfortunately I turned around to find Gippal speaking with him. They both looked serious, and that wasn't good. Hopping over to them anyway, I heard a few muttered words, "Cra lyh'd ghuf."

"Who can't know what?" I whispered, peeking out from behind my pops.

They both nearly jumped out of their skins, "Rikku! You should know better than to sneak up on your old man like that!"

"Cunno, E zicd haatat du cbayg fedr oui vun y cal, Vydran," I looked up at Gippal and mumbled, "bnejydamo."

Gippal got the hint. He simply looked at me and nodded. There were no teasing, departing words. He simply walked away. My eyes followed him as he left, but I looked back to my father as he cleared his throat, "Now what is it that you wanted to talk about, Princess?"

A huge grin broke across my face as I bounced from one foot to the other, "I have a business proposition for ya."

Translations:

Sasuneac yna hela, pid dryd'c ymm drao yna…- Memories are nice, but that's all they are…"

Cra lyh'd ghuf. - She can't know.

Cunno, E zicd haatat du cbayg fedr oui vun y cal, Vydran. - Sorry, I just needed to speak with you for a sec, Father.

bnejydamo – privately

How was that for the first chapter of my first fanfic? I thought it went pretty well. I'll keep writing whether I get reviews or not, but they would be much appreciated!


	2. Working Girl

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer that I'm typing on.

Working Girl

The small airship glided slowly onto the landing site in the desert. Several Al Bheds approached to aide the pilot of the one person airship. That person just happened to be yours truly, 'Princess of the Al Bhed', Rikku. I turned off the ignition. The dust stirred up by my airship remained, so I kept my goggles on. I pressed the cover release and the lid that kept me in throughout my extremely boring flight opened. Finally I was able to climb onto the side and jump down. A couple of the Al Bheds that had come to help me were, no doubt, sent by my father to make sure I had made the trip safely. When they saw that I was fine and dandy, helping to shut everything down and unload the goods I'd brought, they left to inform my pops that I'd arrived safely. Their jobs must suck.

Well, after discussing my future with my father that night at the party, I suggested that I could be of best use in the machina department. Pops thought it over and decided that I was right. No daughter of his was going to be a couch potato. Home was being rebuilt, and that was the perfect opportunity for me to contribute! Over the past couple of weeks after the party, I'd been helping to take parts to and from the excavation sight and the Home ruins. I also had to help install the more complex machina. My favorite part of the job was the machina. I loved taking new parts to the ruins and tinkering with them.

The only thing left of the old Home was the foundation; the rest had burned. After clearing away all the debris we had left behind that fateful day, we started to rebuild what was taken from us. It gave me the shivers just thinking about it. _What am I thinking? We're rebuilding! Time to look to the future! _I would tell myself over and over again in my head. _I'm the enthusiastic one! They need me._

Anyway, back to my life's newest work. I'm having a blast riding around in my new airship. I know people think I'm spoiled, pops getting me my own airship and all, but I earned it! Look at what I've accomplished! I helped to vanquish sin once and for all, defeated the psycho machina, Vegnagun, and all within my teen years. Take that you meanies. The airship is just the perfect fit for a girl on the go. I couldn't have asked for a better way to travel, but I missed the big airships sometimes and all my old companions along with them. My job could be lonely sometimes.

We had to pack up all the new parts on a hover to send to the site before I could get on the hover for passengers. It seemed like they treated the machina like more precious cargo than the people on those stupid hovers! I'd nearly fallen off three times already!

By the time we'd gotten there it was getting a little dark. The temperature was going to drop dramatically, and soon. We needed to hurry so that we could get into camp before night broke. A messenger went ahead to gather some machina we could use to make the transportation easier on us, not to mention quicker.

Most of the parts had been taken off the hover when the help arrived. Pops was riding on one of the larger carriers. I ended up being yelled at for packing and unpacking such 'large, pointy, and dangerous parts'. According to him it's 'not a lady's work'. I just rolled my eyes and gave him a pat on the back, "Pops, if you don't want me to help get everything back to the site, you can just take my place in helping load and unload. You know, since it _is _a man's work and everything. I'm just going to head to camp for some much needed sleep." I yawned for extra emphasis and waved as I walked away. He just stood there, a funny dumbstruck look on his face. Father hadn't come to do any physical labor. His sole purpose for coming was to tell me not to help and bark orders as always. Thanks to me, he was stuck.

Upon returning to my spacious tent, I flopped onto my mattress, sighing contentedly. My eyelids were too heavy to argue with and so I let them close. My blissful nap was short-lived however, when I heard some rustling outside my tent and a soft, "Rikku…"

My first thought was, _Oh, perfect timing, strange voice in the night. I was having a nice dream too! _Opening the tent to step out in the cold night air, I was surprised to see not only Pops, but Gippal? "Hi….What the heck are you all waking me up for?" I was still in my thief outfit, and the cold shot through me immediately. I tried to bounce my sleepy self around a little as I rubbed my arms, but doing that wasn't really helping. I felt something warm come over me, and I stopped bouncing for second to notice that Gippal had draped his heavy coat over me. I muttered a thank you and suddenly felt very foolish for not changing into something warmer before stepping outside. Obviously Gippal had thought ahead.

"Alright, Princess, Gippal and I have decided that the best place for you to be of good use is not to be in the desert all the time. You always liked to travel more than just across some boring sand dunes. Gippal and I've come up with an idea for an elite group that will be the best of the best to go to Djose and spruce up the important machina there before bringing it here. The hours will be better, and it'll be a good change of scenery for ya, Rikku. You can even travel from time to time to see Yuna and Tidus," Pops just kept going on and on. As soon as he said spruce up machina, I was long gone. He had my vote then and there! I heard Yuna somewhere at the very end, and I'm still not exactly sure what that was all about.

Gippal just let Pops do all the talking, nodding at certain points, "So, are you here to rescue me from the harsh desert life?" I elbowed him in the ribs lightly.

He just grinned, "That all depends on if you want to be rescued." After that he poked me in the stomach, and I couldn't help but giggle.

"I think…" They both looked at me in eagerly as I tapped my chin and looked to the sky, as if in deep thought, "I think that it might be nice to be rescued."

Pop clasped Gippal on his shoulder and embarrassed both of us severely by going into him watching out for me and taking care of me and all that stuff my dad tells everyone I go anywhere with. I had a sneaking suspicion, as I agreed to this thing, that somehow they were tricking me into something that I would be angry about later…

Author's Notes: Sorry, I had to leave it there. I'll try and make my next chapter longer too. This fic will most likely be updated weekly. (On the weekends probably) I'm making no promises though! I love to write, but I do have a life. (Amazingly)

Thank you to my reviewers! You are my very first ones!

Back of Beyond, Rikku SWiRLS, Starchild009, Fanfic-Lover, and witchyinuyashagurl


	3. Old Friends

I've gone through the last two chapters throughout the week and made some revisions. I felt like an idiot and laughed at all the dumb mistakes I'd made, but I fixed them quickly. There was also a lot of Al Bhed in this chapter, so I went ahead and put translations at the end of the paragraphs. I know the pains of scrolling up and down for meanings.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to FFX-2 except a copy of the game.

**Old Friends**

My eyes popped open when a huge horn went off. Someone must really hate me. When I looked over to my chibi chocobo clock, I let out an ear piercing scream. Within a couple of seconds Gippal burst through my door, "What! What's wrong!" His eyes bounced all around my room, obviously looking for something that might have caused me to be frightened. I'd give **him **something to be frightened about.

I marched right up to him, hands on hips, with my face right up in his, "What do you think you're doing, mister?" I poked him in his chest sharply. He looked pretty dumbstruck. If I wasn't so mad I might have laughed, "Why in Spira would you blow that horn at four o'clock in the morning!"

Gippal's shocked face relaxed into an amused one, "Oh, my apologies, Princess. It seems I forgot to tell you that everyone around here has to wake up at four to get ready to start the day. We start at sunrise, end at sunset."

He might have been amused, but I certainly wasn't, "So, you're saying as long as I stay here, I have to wake up before the crack of dawn?" When he nodded, I pushed away from him and started gathering my things on my stiff, single bed.

After I started putting things into my bags, his curiosity got the best of him, "What are you doing?"

"I'd rather live with the sand, late nights, and being checked up on by my pops all the time than work from dawn to dusk. That leaves no time for any fun at all!" I got on my knees to look under the bed. "Have you seen the keys to my airship?" As I looked up, I bit my lower lip. Gippal had my keys and proceeded in teasing me by tossing them up in the air and catching them, "I need those."

"Come on, Cid's girl. Would it really be so bad to stick around and try it? You'll have breaks from time to time, and the fun is in the machina!" He knew he had me there, but he must have been feeling generous, "I'll take you on business trips with me too. What do you say?"

I would've blushed and felt rather flustered at that point, but he was wearing that dumb smirk of his. It was the one that made all the girls swoon over him like a bunch of piranhas would at an all-you-can-eat fish buffet. As for me, I just wanted to shove his face in the dirt when he did that! He thought he could make me into one of his little girlfriend pets. He had another thing coming! I sauntered over to him, biting the tip of my finger gingerly, "Well, going on business trips with you sounds…exciting." I took my finger and touched him lightly on the chest, looking up at him with a smirk of my own.

He started babbling like an idiot, flustered at my acts and gaze upon him. In all honesty, I could not control my laughter any longer. My finger lifted from his chest to point at his stricken face as I cackled madly and fell onto the floor in fits of laughter. He got a grumpy look to him, "That was not funny, Cid's Girl."

I wiped a tear from my eye as he looked down at me, "You mean it wasn't funny because the joke was on you this time, right?" He rolled his eye and helped me up from the floor, "Anyway, I'll give this place a shot. The advanced machina is just too irresistible."

Gippal gave me a wink and turned on that stupid smirk again. I could see the stupid line coming from a mile away, "Yeah, the machina is irresistible."

His humorous sarcasm was wasted on me. I just grinned and nodded, playing stupid, "That's what I said wasn't it?" I wiped that smirk off his face again! Final score is Rikku-two, Gippal-zero! The grin that was plastered on my face started to fade when I realized something, "Hey, I'm wide awake now! You should come in here every morning after the wake up blow." I pulled up my braids, wrapped my bandana around my head, and began tying all my arm ribbons. After I was done I was bouncing up and down in excitement, "Well, it's time for work. Let's get cracking!"

Sweat was dripping down my forehead as I tried to get the last piece into the center without hitting any of the sensitive parts of the tiny machina. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. Almost there…After hearing a tiny, _click, _I knew I was successful. I jumped up and did a little victory jig, when someone grabbed my arm from behind. I flipped the assailant over my shoulder, being careful not to hit the precious machina I had just spruced up, and threw him on his back onto the floor. He moaned and I clasped my hand over my mouth in surprise when I realized who it was. I rushed to his aid, falling on my knees beside him, "E's cu cunno, Berrik! Yna oui ugyo?" ('I'm so sorry, Berrik! Are you okay?')

He just laughed and rubbed the back of his head after sitting up, "E's veha. E cruimt ghuf po huf hud du chayg ib uh oui mega dryd." Berrikand I had been friends for a long time. We'd even done work together on the salvaging team when we were younger. ('I'm fine. I should know by now not to sneak up on you like that.')

"Eh dryd lyca," I pounced on him with a big hug, knocking him over again, "Frana ryja oui paah? E ryjah'd caah oui eh y kywemmeuh oaync!" ('In that case, where have you been? I haven't seen you in a gazillion years!')

He just laughed, "Oui fahd uvv du vekrd Ceh yc y kiynteyh yht drah palusa y Kimmfehk yht naiheda dra funmt. E teth'd ghuf fru du lymm du syga yh ybbuehdsahd fedr oui." ('You went off to fight Sin as a guardian. Then you became a Gullwing and reunited Spira. I didn't know who to call to make an appointment with you.')

I giggled, "Yht fryd ypuid oui? Oui'ja palusa xieda dra pmedwpymm cdyn! Fa fuimt'ja hajan vuiht y tyo du saad. Hud fedr ouin raldel dnyehehk yht jelduno byndo clratima, Sn. Cibancdyn. Vysa ryc ajah lryhkat ouin ryen! Oui ymfyoc fana y meddma tajem, yht huf oui'ja kud dra runhc du bnuja ed!" He sighed and pouted playfully. (And what about you? You've become quite the blitzball star! We would've never found a day to meet. Not with your hectic training and victory party schedule, Mr. Superstar. Fame has even changed your hair! You always were a little devil, and now you've got the horns to prove it)

We both laughed, and I was about to get off of Berrik after tackling him, when Gippal walked in. Gippal jerked me to my feet and grabbed Berrik around the collar. He pulled him off of the floor and pushed him against the wall, knocking over my beautifully finished machina in the process. "Fryd tu oui drehg oui'na tuehk?" I yelled at them. Then they were both going at it. With all the strength I'd gained through fighting Sin and Vegnagun, I separated the two of them. They were both breathing hard, and I was furious, "Ugyo, **lremtnah**, ryt ahuikr?" The two of them looked like I was their mother, scolding them for their bad behavior. My anger slipped into sadness as I crumpled next to my ruined machina, "Oui teth'd tacanja drec." I sighed heavily, ignoring the two boys trying to consol me and asking for forgiveness. ('What do you think you're doing?', 'Okay, **children**, had enough?', 'You didn't deserve this.')

Author's Notes: I'm sorry again for picking a horrid place to stop. I was trying to hurry and get this out. The Al Bhed language might be a pain, but it just doesn't seem right to not put it when appropriate.

Thanks to last chapter's reviewers!

witchyinuyashagurl, mipku, Fanfic-Lover


	4. Gaining Ground

I'm **so** sorry for not updating sooner. You can't even imagine what an overwhelming week that I've had. I agree that the ending of the last chapter was very rushed, and I didn't want to rush this one. The only time I've had to spare, I ate. Maybe I need to reorganize my priorities.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, even though I wish I owned Gippal…

**Gaining Ground**

My head was covered by my pillow, and I was on my stomach in my bed. Even the pillow couldn't completely shut out all of the knocking on my door and muffled apologies. The frustration of everything that had gone down merely an hour ago was still fresh on my mind. I couldn't have been more pissed.

I was sick of all that Gippal had done to try and earn my forgiveness, which was mostly apologize and promise ways to make it up to me. I chucked my pillow across the room and stomped over to my bedroom door. The shock on his face when I flung open the door was laughable, but he wouldn't get away with harming my poor machina by just being his normal, goofy self.

I didn't even spare him a glance as I wisped by him toward the break room. And what did the high and mighty Faction leader do? He stayed right where he was, and I didn't expect him to come after me. Both of us knew that if he had followed me into the break room I would have ended up purposely embarrassing him in front of all his workers. What a chicken.

After getting a drink and having a seat at the table, (which was pretty much all there was in the break room) I started to calm down. My fellow Al Bheds and machina lovers buzzed about the latest parts coming in from the desert. It was like music to my ears. All I did was sit and listen until everyone's break was over. I sighed, "Well, back to the salt mine."

For the rest of the day I made sure to work on the larger machina that had a few people working on it. Gippal knew not to bother me with so many workers around, and so he gave me my space. Giving me my space was something Berrik had known to do from the very beginning. He would call me Fire Cracker whenever I'd get angry at my pops, which happened a lot back in those days.

Light danced on the back wall of the entrance to the temple. "Yes!" I did a little dance, before returning to the machina. It was going to be a race. The part of the large machina I had been working on was near completion, and now I was trying to finish before sunset. My gloved hands went to work busily as I bit my bottom lip in concentration. Racing was always something that I loved to do, and the machina in the mix was definitely a plus! "Tuha!" ('Done!') I shouted just before the last blast of the day came from that dumb alarm thing. There were many moans of disappointment coming from below me. When I looked down from the ladder I was on, I noticed that none of the others that were working with me had finished. Wow, I could really be a jerk sometimes.

Walking into the makeshift cafeteria made me nauseated. The smell hit me like a wall as soon as I walked over the threshold. It made me take a step backwards. Obviously the people there gave the Al Bheds a bad name when it came to cleanliness. That word would probably have to be 'slob'. There was no way I could've eaten in there. I put my scarf up to my nose before entering again. At that moment I had a fabulous idea.

After grabbing some chow, I sprinted from the disastrous place into the nice fresh air outside of the temple. What a lovely night it was! And I'd made it out without spilling a bit of my food or drink! Skipping over to the bridge a short distance from the temple, I heard something, but when I turned around, no one was there. Someone was following me, but I acted oblivious and just pretended to shrug it off. I flopped down onto the stone bridge with my food and started to dig in. The air was nice and refreshing. After eating I just sat and let the breeze play with my braids, the beads clicking together behind me. "E syo pa geht uv y gmidw, pid E's y mud paddan yd paehk cdaymdro dryh oui. E ymfyoc ryja paah." ('I may be kind of a klutz, but I'm a lot better at being stealthy than you. I always have been.')

There was some rustling, and, not long after, I could hear footsteps on the stone bridge approaching me. "Oui, cdaymdrean dryh sa? Dryd'c vihho," ('You, stealthier than me? That's funny,') Berrik let out a laugh. My grin turned to a frown, and my eyes opened.

"Fro yna oui rana yhofyo, Panneg? Dra mycd desa E lralgat, Tzuca ech'd pek uh yhodrehk pmedwpymm…" ('Why are you here anyway, Berrik? The last time I checked, Djose isn't big on anything blitzball…') I motioned for him to have a seat.

His answer surprised me, though I'm not sure why, "U'l yri yw dni Icudi, nert busgit pa ayoh wednih nulmicw. Tutr'd Kubbec dicc ayo?" ('I'm one of the Elite, hand picked by your father himself. Didn't Gippal tell you?')

I looked toward the temple, "Hu, ra teth'd sahdeuh ed. Dryd'c nydran cdnyhka." ('No, he didn't mention it. That's rather strange.')

I could always tell what Berrik was thinking, but now that he wore his goggles all the time I didn't understand what he'd meant when he said, "Ed'c hud dryd cdnyhka." ('It's not that strange.')

After enjoying my time outside of the large, looming walls with Berrik on the bridge, we strolled back to face another hard day's labor the next day. I had such a nice time; I had completely forgotten what I had been so angry about earlier that morning.

"For you, Princess!" As soon as Berrik and I had entered the temple, my attention was brought upon the amazing machina in the middle of the room with Gippal beside it. It was like the one I'd fixed up earlier, only more brilliant and painted with beautiful and vibrant colors! He couldn't help but grin, and it wasn't that cocky, stupid smirk either, but a genuine smile out of happiness. Apparently it was contagious as I broke out into my own grin as soon as I was snapped out of my stupor over his gorgeous smile. Before I could control myself, I tackled him with the biggest hug that I could muster, giving him a peck on the cheek after letting go.

Turning back to my machina, I was amazed. It was extravagantly beautiful, and he did a much better job restoring it than I did. My breath was taken away, as well as my ability to speak. "For me?" It came out as a soft whisper in awe.

Gippal looked at it over my shoulder, "She's all yours. Just call it a little something to make up for being a jerk." The machina was a sphere recorder, and it didn't need a person to operate it. Through sea or air, it would follow and record a person's journey. Now, where exactly was my journey to exactly?

Author's notes: Again, I'm sorry for being so late on the update. I liked the following recorder idea, but there might be some ulterior motives as to why Gippal gave her something like that. Believe it or not, there is a plot to this story!

Thanks to last chapter's reviewers!

mipku: Yes, Gippal is definitely cuter.

Cute-Kitty: Thank you, and I'm glad that it's getting some laughs.

Rikku SWiRLS: You're attitude is so cheerful! It makes me think of Rikku!

summoner-adel: I put them beside the sentences. I hope that makes the Al Bhed easier, and thank you for your suggestion!

Fanfic-Lover: I completely agree. I don't think that there's enough Al Bhed in some of the fanfiction I've read. It seems lonely and empty. Lol

witchyinuyashagurl: Thank you for your suggestion. I hope things are smoother with this chapter.


	5. Revealed Secrets

I've had yet another exhausting week, but now I'm on spring break! I might get a couple more chapters than usual out this week. Spring break is all about kicking back, and not having to stress myself out over school work. Now I feel inspired!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with FFX-2.

**Revealed Secrets**

The next day I was on my best behavior. I got up before the large horn went off so that I could have a pleasant awakening. Deciding that I had some extra time, I went out for a revitalizing little jog to the Moonflow. The before sunset breeze was nice coming off of the Moonflow. A run was just the kind of thing I needed in my time before work.

The water was so beautiful in the early morning hours before sunrise; it made me stop in my tracks to stare. I wasn't aware of how much time had passed, but at some point I'd taken a seat on the soft grass on the rivers edge.

This time the person sneaking up on me was stealthy enough to go unnoticed. At least he was unnoticed until he pushed from behind, sending me screaming like a banshee into the water.

I surfaced to hear a splash right behind me and soon felt two strong, gloved hands covering my neck and squeezing to cut off my air supply. After being such an accomplished fighter, do you think I went down that easily? My vision was blurry, but I knew my hit had been accurate when the male let go after my foot had made contact with his manhood.

I fell back, a little lightheaded and coughing like none other. Surprisingly someone was there to catch me. The hands that caught my arms and steadied my frame were gentle, unlike the hands that had tried to kill me, knock me out, or Spira knows what. After I'd collected myself, my savior released me to catch whoever the heck had come after me. My vision was still blurry, and my legs were still wobbly. The bank seemed so far away, but somehow I ended up dragging myself out of the water to lie on the dry ground.

I had closed my eyes, but when I opened them someone was above me, looking into the distance, "Gippal?" Gippal's angry expression softened into worry when he looked down at me. "Who was that? Why was he after me?" My arms struggled to help me sit up, but it was easier when Gippal helped me. If I wasn't trembling and freaked out, I would have thought about kissing him we were so close.

"There's something that I need to tell you. It's what me and your old man were talking about at the party at Besaid. Someone is after you, Rikku." His face looked even more worried than before.

All I could choke was, "What?" as I struggled to my feet with Gippal's help.

Gippal took a deep breath, "We thought you'd be safe in the desert, but it didn't work out. There was a band of strange looking Al Bhed on the outskirts of the ruins. Your father thought that I could protect you here, and," he paused, "I wanted the job of taking care of you." He took my hands in his, "You have to stay at the temple where there are plenty of people around. There's no more going solo."

"Wait just a minute. You're saying that my life has been in danger all this time, and neither you nor my father has bothered to fill me in? You think I'm just going to play the clueless damsel in distress part? I said it would be nice to be rescued from the desert, but I didn't mean literally!" I ripped my hands from his and put them to the sides of my head. "Coming here was never about," I almost let something slip there about him wanting me to come because he felt something for me, "needing me to work on machina. It was because you were trying to hide me! Why am I so stupid?"

I turned away from him. The idea had come into my head that the only reason he wanted me at Djose was that he wanted to be close to me. Apparently it was just my overprotective father. I always seemed to assume the greatest things that turned out to be completely wrong. I felt his hands on my arms, "You aren't stupid. I should have told you, but we were afraid you wouldn't want to stay in a safe place. Please, come back to the temple with me."

It took everything I had to keep the goose bumps away when feeling his warm breath on my neck. Yes, he was that close. My eyes looked to the Moonflow for answers, just as the sun began to rise. Looking into the water, I found my answer.

I turned around to face him, our faces extremely close, "I can take care of myself." I leaned in close to him again, trying to give him goose bumps, "Tell Berrik I said to make an appointment with Yunie." Gippal frowned in confusion before I shoved him with all my might. Not expecting the blow, he toppled backwards, but I had other plans. Water splashed up around me as I ran into the Moonflow, diving into the deeper water and disappearing into the depths.

What an exit! That was so cool. I'm sure Gippal thought I'd drowned, but, little did he know, the underwater machina I'd used to try and take Yunie away had been repaired and stored where the shoopufs don't tread. After finding it I found it working like it had when it was brand new. I was in the air bubble thingy, and quickly making my way toward Mushroom Rock Road. I suppose this was the beginning to my journey. I just hope that my story has a happy ending.

Author's Notes: This chapter is done! Like I said earlier, I might be able to get a couple more chapters out this week, so review and keep a look out for more very soon!

Thanks to last chapter's reviewers!

witchyinuyashagurl: I figured that maybe Berrik would try to help, but the Gippal in this story is very jealous and overprotective.

green-eyed-blonde: Yes, the recorder following her around will come in handy throughout the story.

MakoAnima: It's creeping along alright. This story is a big revelation in the plot. I tried to be subtle, but sometimes I get carried away. :D

Fanfic-Lover: I didn't put as much Al Bhed in this chapter, so that everyone could focus on what's going on. I figured it would be a little confusing. Plus everyone knows that Rikku and Gippal can both speak English.


	6. Creating a Veil

A thousand apologies, but I didn't have as much time as I thought I did. With volleyball and my club duties all my free time has been eaten alive. Fortunately, I have all of this afternoon and evening to do what I please, and so I decided to finally update my story! Please don't be angry!

Disclaimer: FFX-2 does not belong to me, although if I acquired a colossal amount of money somehow, it would definitely be at the top of my list.

**Creating the Veil**

Two months had passed since I jumped into the Moonflow. Most of Spira took no notice of my disappearance. I didn't figure that 'Lady Yuna's cousin' disappearing would make headlines anyway. The Al Bhed, however, seemed to be making a big stir. I had no idea I was such a symbol for my people. I never knew how important I was in the eyes of Al Bhed.

After getting far away from Gippal, my underwater transportation device was left behind on the Moonflow bank, and I thought about the least likely of places for Gippal or my father to find me and found myself headed towards the Calm Lands.

As soon as I'd reached my destination, I used the communication device given to me by Shinra right before Leblanc's concert. My quiet pleas were answered when I heard the little beeps meaning that it still worked. I applauded the little genius and gave my fellow Gullwings a quick distress call, "Y-R-P meet in the Calm Lands. I'll be waiting at Clasko's chocobo ranch. Make it quick and come alone."

Clasko gave me a warm welcome after I'd ridden up on another one of those horrendous hovers. Always one for the great outdoors, I camped outside of the ranch on the vast plains. The night was beautiful, and there wasn't a fiend for miles. Drifting off to a peaceful sleep, I was soon jolted awake by Paine kicking me in the side.

"Ouch! That really hurt, you know?" I pouted and rubbed my ribs where Paine's hard, combat boots had made contact.

Paine rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip, "You looked so peaceful. After calling Yuna and I here, interrupting anything we were doing or planning to do to come here, I didn't think you deserved such a luxury."

Scrambling to my feet, I gave Yuna a hug. Upon releasing her, I put on my serious face to show them that I meant business. Paine certainly changed her attitude, "What happened?"

The three of us sat down in an empty chocobo stall, and I relayed my entire experience, starting with talking to Pops at the "Party of Heroes", as some called it. It took a long time for either to speak, both taking in the information I'd supplied and analyzing the situation. Yuna cleared her throat, "Is there any reason you can think of as to why," she paused for a moment, trying to choose her words carefully, "someone would want to harm you?"

I fervently shook my head, "The highlight of my life has been my adventures to save Spira with you Yunie! There's nothing I can think of that I could've done to make someone want to kill me!"

"This man was strong, was he not?" Paine questioned me. After I nodded she continued, "Do you know if he had a weapon? If he had wanted to kill you, why didn't he use a weapon of some sort rather than using his bare hands?"

I deliberated these inquiries for little while, "He grabbed me so suddenly, that I didn't even get a chance to notice whether he had a weapon or not. I suppose we could ask Gippal. That is, if I wasn't so darn mad at him."

"We'll get to him and your father later," Yuna supplied in a slightly angry tone. "Right now, we need to figure out why you're in danger. If you haven't done anything, could it be a radical follower of Yevon, trying to destroy the Al Bhed's happiness?"

"Why would getting rid of me destroy the Al Bhed's happiness?" I had no idea what the heck Yunie was talking about. Neither of us even noticed how quiet Paine was being. The gears were turning in her head, and apparently she was starting to form a theory as to what was going on. Unfortunately, she decided not to fill anyone in on her silent discoveries at that moment.

Of course I didn't see myself as a much loved representative of my people. All I ever wanted was to have fun and save my family. Where this whole "symbol of the Al Bhed" came into play, I hadn't a clue. That whole Princess thing was supposed to be a little nickname my father gave me, not an official title! Yuna tried to explain to me my importance to the Al Bhed people, but I just didn't get it.

Putting my hand to my forehead to try and physically push all of my stress back into my brain before I went psycho, I decided to bring up a new situation for Yunie and Paine to consult me on, "Was it right for them to try and hide me away like that without telling me? Do I have the right to be as angry as I am?"

"Of course you do! This is an outrage! I cannot believe that Uncle Cid and Gippal thought that they could just handle this without telling you that your own life was in danger," Yuna shook her head in disbelief at their attitudes toward my perilous situation.

Paine crossed her arms in indignation, "It's insulting really, not only to you, but to all of us. Did they really think that it was best not to let you in on the fact that someone is trying to kidnap you? The incident at the Moonflow could have easily been avoided if he would've told you beforehand. He's so ignorant."

Looking to Yuna for clarification, I could see that she was just as confused as I was. After a couple of seconds she spoke up for the both of us, "What do you mean 'kidnapped'?"

Paine took a deep breath, "Well, it's very simple. The man obviously didn't want to get rid of her or he would've used a weapon to kill her from behind. This is more of a circumstance where he tried to cut off her air supply until she passed out, and he almost succeeded. The attacker wanted you unconscious, Rikku, not dead." She's so clever. How come I could never deduct things like that?

After getting past Paine's brilliance, I could do nothing more than just sit and rock back and forth, hugging my knees. Why the heck would anyone have wanted me? I've never thought of myself as very important.

We all decided that I could not remain in the Calm Lands. There was virtually no protection from anyone that would come after me again. The decision was made, and the favor was called in. Before I could say "blitzball" I was in Luca.

You'll never guess my disguise. It was fun and exciting, but, I have to admit, I'm glad no one knew who I was. Rin understood the gravity of my situation and ironically put me where Pops, Gippal, Berrik, or anyone at all would look for a girl on the run. He put me on display. Always the one to have pretty girls surrounding him because of his astounding wealth, I became the girl that he always had on his arm at public occasions. There was no better cover anywhere! I wore my Lady Luck dressphere, a flashy pair of nice goggles (courtesy of Rin), and my hair was down. No one had seen me with my hair down in, well, years. It was much longer and was curled at the ends. Life undercover sure wasn't the disaster I though it was going to be. That is, until the uproar.

Before long, word got out from the Machine Faction all the way to home, that I had gone missing. I didn't think that it would be such a big deal, but apparently, as usual, I was very wrong. Everyone was demanding answers out of my father and Gippal as to how and why it happened. Little did they know that I was right there, next to Rin, when Shelinda asked his opinion on the situation for all of Luca to see.

Guilt started to come over me when I attended speeches and conferences at Rin's side to see Gippal and father attempt to cover their worry with assurance to our people of my safe return. Why did all of the Al Bhed suddenly become such big Rikku fans? Heck if I knew. According to a few of Rin's sources, all of the Al Bhed had fallen in love with having an Al Bhed princess like me being 'the face of our people'. My being a guardian, helping defeat Sin, helping defeat Vegnagun, personally knowing Spira's tri-counsel, having worked with many on Home and at Djose, having close family ties with Yuna, and even my Pops had earned me more respect than I had ever imagined. And that respect, made it very hard to be discreet and remain in hiding behind Rin while Gippal and Pops took the heat, as well as worried about me constantly. Two months had passed while the storm brewed, but an outbreak was soon to be unleashed.

Author's Notes: This was a pretty long chapter compared to the last couple. I liked this chapter, and it was very fun to write. Thanks to last chapter's reviewers, and please be kind a drop me another one. Although I know that I don't deserve them with my tardiness. I would still be eternally grateful.

witchyinuyashagurl: There will be much more, I assure you, and you make perfect sense to me.

Fanfic-Lover: Well, I didn't have to worry about Al Bhed so much in this chapter, and thank you for your support:D

mipku: One characteristic that I share with Rikku is that I will never play the damsel in distress. I wanted to show off what strength she has by herself in this story, since she's always in a group.

green-eyed-blonde: I don't think she has to worry about killing anymore…at least not right away…


	7. The Inscrutable Blonde

I have no excuse for my hermit attitude, unless any of my readers will show pity on account of my lack of inspiration. I've also re-read the chapters that I've done, and they seem to be lacking somehow. It struck me that I might not have been adding enough dialogue. Would that add more depth to the story? Feedback would be appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own FFX-2 in any shape, form, or fashion.

**The Inscrutable Blonde**

After having Rin take me in for a while, I decided that it was nice to be pampered sometimes, but also that the spoiled life could be very dull. Where was the action packed lifestyle that I had come to know and love? My adventure had turned into just standing there. I became an idle observer in my own life. It was kind of weird to see my family worried over me and all of my people lash out in anger toward the Al Bhed leaders for my quick skedaddle. The crowds of people started to make me feel something in the pit of my stomach every time they attacked my Pops. I suppose it was disgust. That's why I showed my true color that day- _blonde._

The uprisings came from every corner of Spira where you could find an Al Bhed and became worse and worse as time went on. I just wanted to hit all of the stupid meanies! Did they really think that's what I wanted if I were really kidnapped? How dumb do you get?

There I was, simply standing there, like I always do now, beside Rin at a **huge** gathering of Al Bhed to hear what my pops had to say. The people were shouting horrible things at him! One example, to let you know what I mean is, 'Oui cina tuh'd caas du lyna jano silr, luhcetanehk ouin tyikrdan ec seccehk!' ('You sure don't seem to care very much, considering your daughter is missing!') He came and sat near Rin, burying his face in his hands, saying, "E tuh'd ghuf fryd du tu yhosuna. E zicd fyhd so meddma Bnehlacc du lusa Rusa." ('I don't know what to do anymore. I just want my little Princess to come Home.')

At that moment, I'd felt remorse for everything that I'd done, from telling my first lie about Brother breaking his favorite machina to keep myself out of trouble, to running away and not letting him know that I was safe. I took the time to look around at the people on the stage. Brother didn't look much better than father, and Gippal was being shunned from the microphone at that time. Standing there wasn't good enough for me anymore, but I couldn't very well have anyone stop me. I always was the one to act on the spur of the moment.

The next few moments seemed to last forever when, in reality I was moving rather swiftly. Before I could help myself I had stepped away from Rin slightly, out of his reach, looking out into the crowd with a final snort of disgust. As they started to scream more insults at poor Gippal, I burst in. That's right, I burst right in. It wasn't the smartest move I've ever made, and I can definitely say that I'm not proud of that moment in the spotlight.

Before anyone could shout another word I had shoved Gippal to the side with all my might, and, to my great satisfaction, he fell- granted he hadn't braced himself to be knocked away from the podium. The goggles came off and were flung into the audience. Everyone seemed to be rather baffled, but they decided to shout random insults at me anyway. Next thing they knew, I exploded.

"Fryd'c fnuhk fedr ymm uv oui? Oui yld mega draca baubma ceddehk ib rana tuh'd ajah lyna, pid oui ymm tu hud ajah nalukhewa sa! E's dra seccehk 'Bnehlacc uv dra Ym Prat' dryd ryc paah cdyhtehk eh vnuhd uv oui drec ahdena desa!" ('What's wrong with all of you? You act like these people sitting up here don't even care, but **you** **all** do not even recognize me! I'm the missing 'Princess of the Al Bhed' that has been standing in front of you this entire time!') I was shouting into the microphone at a decibel that should not be used on human ears. The crowds had fallen silent at this point, stunned at my sudden appearance.

"Ymm uv oui ryja syta sa ycrysat du lymm socamv yh Ym Prat fedr ouin jeleuic yht ennydeuhym paryjeun dufyntc so vysemo yht vneahtc. Cyoehk yfvim drehkc du so vydran, fru fyc jano luhlanhat vun so famm paehk yht fyc uh dra pnehg uv vymmehk ybynd rescamv, sygac sa teckicdat fedr ymm uv oui. Muug yd ruf silr drec uha syh ryc tuha vun uin baubma! Ec drec ruf oui nabyo res yht Kebbym vun draen uidcdyhtehk maytancreb? Drao vamd runnepma ahuikr vun maddehk sa cmeb drnuikr draen vehkanc, yht oui, fedr ouin ehcimdehk cekhc du rumt ib," ('All of you have made me ashamed to call myself an Al Bhed with your vicious and irrational behavior towards my family and friends. Saying awful things to my father, who was very concerned for my well being and was on the brink of falling apart himself, makes me disgusted with all of you. Look at how much this one man has done for our people! Is this how you repay him and Gippal for their outstanding leadership? They felt horrible enough for letting me slip through their fingers, and you, with your insulting signs to hold up')I pointed out a few people holding up posters with derogatory comments toward my father and Gippal on them, " cbed uh dras frema drao yna ymcu essancat eh funno vun sa. Lyh huha uv oui caa draen byeh, un yna oui duu ahknuccat eh ouin ufh camvecrhacc?" ('spit on them while they are also immersed in worry for me. Can none of you see their pain, or are you too engrossed in your own selfishness?')

For the first time, I faced my father. He was standing now, trying to keep his cool and still edge toward me. Gippal was also slowly rising from being pushed onto the platform. It was then that I knew I had blown my comfortable cover, and I would soon have to run once again. Turning back to the crowd, I could see the shame on their faces. The signs had become hidden behind layers of people as they were brought down into the crowds.

Slowly, I cleared my throat nervously, "Famm, dryd fyc bnupypmo jano cdibet uv sa du lusbmadamo pmuf so teckieca mega dryd." ('Well, that was probably very stupid of me to completely blow my disguise like that.') I looked to Rin, "Neh fyc knyleuic ahuikr du gaab sa cyva, pid huf E sicd veht yhudran bmyla du cdyo. Tuh'd lyica yhosuna dnuipma vun draca baubma ib rana, oui rayn sa? Ev oui tu E'mm zicd ryja du lusa pylg yht oamm cusa suna. Yd maycd ed syta sa vaam paddan…" ('Rin was gracious enough to keep me safe, but now I must find another place to stay. Don't cause anymore trouble for these people up here, you hear me? If you do I'll just have to come back and yell some more. At least it made me feel better…') I let out a little giggle and scratched my head slightly.

"Oui ymm sicd ghuf dryd drana yna baubma uid drana dryd yna dnoehk du lybdina sa. Gaab ouin muoymdeac du so vydran yht Kebbym. Tuh'd mad drec linnahd cediydeuh gaab oui vnus dnicdehk dras. Pa yccinat dryd E femm lusa pylg du Rusa cuuh, pid vencd E ryja du cdyo yfyo vnus ed. Oihy femm ymfyoc ghuf frana E ys, yht fradran un hud E's cyva. Ev yhodrehk rybbahc, cra femm ymand ajanouha essateydamo. Nacd yccinat dryd hudrehk femm rybbah du sa. Hu uha lyh uid sycdan drec sycdan dreav," ('You all must know that there are people out there that are trying to capture me. Keep your loyalties to my father and Gippal. Don't let this current situation keep you from trusting them. Be assured that I will come back to Home soon, but first I have to stay away from it. Yuna will always know where I am, and whether or not I'm safe. If anything happens, she will alert everyone immediately. Rest assured that nothing **will** happen to me. No one can out master this master thief,') I grinned and stood in my victory position.

"E's cunno du ryja du mayja ajanouha, pid E ghuf dryd retehk ec so uhmo lruela. E dryhg ymm uv oui vun lynehk cu silr ypuid sa, yht E fyhd oui du ghuf dryd E lyna ypuid ymm uv oui yc famm," ('I'm sorry to have to leave everyone, but I know that hiding is my only choice. I thank all of you for caring so much about me, and I want you to know that I care about all of you as well,') on that note I turned to face Gippal and my father, stepping away from the podium.

Pops inched closer, the shock still evident on his face. My eyes went to my feet, and, before I knew it, he had engulfed me in a hug. Tears stung the back of my eyes. We weren't exactly a close family, but I could tell that he and Brother cared when it came down to matters like this.

Moving back from my father I glanced into his eyes. They were so sad, but I knew that I would have to run again. My gaze went to everyone on the stage, all staring at me. It was then that I noticed that the keys to my airship were clipped to Gippal belt. That stupid Gippal had driven my airship to the meeting! My eyes lingered on it, parked next to the Celsius. I was going to get him back for that one. When had he gotten up and moved so close to me anyway?

An ingenious plan started to form in my head. Surprising the heck out of me, Gippal had come over and pulled me into his own hug, whispering lowly in my ear, "E seccat oui, Let'c kenm." ('I missed you, Cid's girl.') He pulled away slightly to face me, but kept his voice low so that no one else could hear, "I know that you're going to have to run again. Just don't go pulling any dangerous stunts, got it?" The sincerity in his voice almost made me listen to him and be a good girl- _almost._

"You know me, Gippy, always on the safe side of things!" Then I did something that surprised all onlookers, not to mention myself. My lips pressed against Gippal's just long enough for me to unhook my keys from his belt. It turned out that I got more flustered with the kiss than I thought I would, and so getting the keys off his belt took a little longer than expected. There we were, in front of all of our people to see, stuck in a lip lock. Gippal didn't pull away though. For some reason, that simple fact made me get butterflies in my stomach.

After fumbling with the keys for a while, if on purpose or not I still don't know myself, I got a hold of them. Pulling back from Gippal, I whispered a soft 'Thank you' to him before pushing past him and speeding toward my airship.

One again I delivered an awe inspiring exit. The only problem was that my mind wasn't rejoicing over getting to finally speak my mind, or leaving them all in the dust. My thoughts kept lingering on the kiss. After telling him that all we had were memories, I just felt a chemistry with Gippal that was very different from what I had expected. I started feeling a little dizzy. Instead of contemplating it too much, I tried not to think about our kiss and focus more on the skies ahead.

At the time I didn't know that Gippal had placed the sphere recorder he fixed up for me in the airship, ready to follow me wherever I went, and there was also a tracking device attached…

**Author's Notes:** This isn't an exceptionally long chapter, but I thought that introducing their attraction for each other would be fun. There's more to come too, I promise.

Ataramos: I know how that feels. There's quite a bit of Al Bhed in this chapter too. It might look a little confusing, but I suppose it's worth it.

green-eyed-blonde: I think that her hiding in front of them would have been perfect, if she wasn't so outspoken, but that's what I like about her character.

oOoDancingQueenoOo: Thank you! I love new reviewers!

Fanfic-Lover: It might be a while before the kidnapper is found out. The idea of the title and everything is that I'm going to try and put her in as many spots around Spira that I can.

Jezzi: Thanks, and sorry my update took so long. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted.

witchyinuyashagurl: Thank you very much for humoring me! It's nice that you read and review so often. I appreciate it very much!


	8. Lost and Found

My muse packed up and left me. After much begging, it has decided to return! That's the only excuse I could think of.

Disclaimer: Owning FFX or FFX-2 would just be my own desperate, wishful thinking.

**Lost and Found**

Well, after my big mouth ran away from me and blew my cover, where else could I have gone but Besaid? I had to tell Yunie everything and get her opinion on what to do next. Throughout the journey back to Besaid my thoughts stayed on the Al Bhed, but there was also one in particular that stuck out in my mind. Why did kissing Gippal affect me so much? Besaid contained the only person that could answer my question, but it wasn't really who I expected.

After parking my ship on the beach, I checked the tiny storage area behind the pilot's seat for anything I didn't want to leave behind. Something caught my eye in the very back, sitting by itself. "What the-…MY MACHINA!" As soon as I realized what it was, I knew Gippal had anticipated me commandeering my ship back from him. Further proving Gippal was smarter than he let on, I found that Gippal had left a sphere inside of the recorder. I sat on the metal floor in the back of the airship and pressed the play button…

_Gippal sat at his desk in Djose with the recorder set up on the other side. By the looks of his desk and tired face, he had been very stressed. Taking a deep breath and running a hand through his hair he spoke, "Rikku, you ran…well, swam out of my life about a month ago, and I haven't seen or heard from you since. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry that I lied to you. Your father and I didn't know how you'd handle it. Apparently you're taking better care of yourself than we gave you credit for, either that or these people have gotten to you before we could." He groaned and started frantically, "Forget Cid! Rikku, **I** am so afraid that something terrible has happened or will happen to you!" His face was buried in his hands, and he was silent for several moments before collecting himself, "I just hope you'll forgive me and know I really did want to rescue you. I still do, Rikku. I won't let you down again, ever. You're a hero already. You've saved Spira so many times, and now I wish you would just relax and let me protect you." He looked straight into the recorder, as if looking straight into her eyes, "You say that 'Memories are nice, but that's all they are.' What if I want more than memories, Rikku?"_

"Wow," was all that I could utter after listening to such an incredible confession, apology, whatever. It impacted me a great deal to see Gippal in such a state, especially considering this was before our little incident at the Al Bhed press conference. I watched it over and over again in total shock, trying to make sense of it all. My life had always been so simple. When had all these people started creeping in to complicate things? Shaking myself out of my stupor, I managed to cram in a fresh sphere for my own recording and tuck his ramblings safely in my item pouch. The recorder was set on pilot and camouflage mode, so it would follow me in the air without anyone being able to spot it, though my voice command could make it visible again if I wished. It really was an incredible machina.

Everything else I thought I needed was packed up, and I headed out and toward the village, tossing my airship keys up in the air and catching them as I went. Fiends were scarce. When they did show up I just threw a gem and defeated them quickly. The walk gave me time to try and think up ways and places to hide now that I had ruined the one with Rin. The problem with that was the lack of adventure. What could I do now that had plenty of adventure, but I could easily conceal my identity?

Night crept up on me. I arrived to Yuna and Tidus's quaint little tent a little after sunset, but when I called out to Yunie, no one answered. I peeked inside to find that no one was home. The only other place I could go was Lulu and Wakka's. I definitely heard some people talking in their hut. "Hello…?" I let whoever was in there know I was coming before slipping right in.

Everyone smiled and got up to greet me except Lulu who sat in the corner, holding a sleeping Vidina. Tidus and Yuna had come over to visit with Lulu and Wakka which was apparently the tradition of their evenings here. "Rikku, what are you doing here? I thought you had settled in at Luca," Yuna tried to dance around the subject of my going into hiding. Looking at Lulu, I could tell she was wondering the same thing. Yuna had most likely told her everything, not that I minded of course. Wakka and Tidus, however, remained clueless as to the goings on outside of Besaid other than the current Blitzball competition. Tidus was also a lot more intuitive than we planned on and began questioning until we spilled everything to him and Wakka as well.

"I couldn't help myself, Yunie," I was scolded for behaving so irrationally, especially considering my current predicament. "The life on top just wasn't where I belonged. If I'm going to be somewhere for a while, I need to have **some** adventure to keep me occupied!"

"Rikku is right, Yuna. It was inevitable she would blow her cover from being detained for so long, within such close proximity to her father no doubt. Rin's lifestyle was undeniably wrong for a disposition like Rikku's," Lulu came to my defense with her dead-on perception.

"Thanks for understanding why I did what I did, Lulu," I smiled slightly at the lovely mage. Motherhood suited her a lot more than I had expected. Lulu was the one I always looked to as a role model. She just always had this elegant understanding I longed to have myself. As Yunie took charge, and everyone began the brainstorming session, I decided to just sit and reflect.

The couples in the room with me were so obviously in love, and no one could have a hope of convincing me otherwise. Wakka and Lulu were married and had an adorable baby boy. Yuna and Tidus were planning their wedding when not thinking of ways to bail me out of my predicament. Was it bad that I was jealous?

Yunie and the others came up with a good plan for my next alias. It took no time at all for me to agree, but I needed to take a break from all of the hectic stuff going on. A walk to the docks sounded like a comforting idea, so back to the beach I went.

Sighing quietly I sat down on the wood docks and dangled my feet in the water. My life seemed to be going so crazy right now. Was there any constant for me to depend on through all of this? I didn't want to think about my life being in danger, and my whole existence being disturbed while everyone else enjoyed the Eternal Calm. I just wanted... "_Gippal._"

The first thing that came to my mind had escaped my lips, and instantly my hand flew to my mouth. Why did I think of him as I thought of what I wanted most? The memories of what had passed at the party, in the desert, at Djose, on the sphere, at the conference instantly filled my mind. Gippal's voice echoed in my thoughts as well, repeating the same thing, "_More than memories…_"

Heavy footsteps ripped me from my contemplation, as I turned quickly with a twinge of hope that it would be the one that I wanted more than anyone right now. I couldn't help but be disappointed, you know? Tidus had come to check on me after Yunie started worrying.

"Rikku, you're missing quite the strategy session. What's going on?" Tidus pulled off his boots and took a seat next to me.

"Everything is all jumbled up in my head. My life has always been exciting, but I've always known what to do. Uncover underwater machina, keep Yuna safe, save Spira, flying around looking for you…My path has always been clear," my hand came to my forehead to try and soothe the headache I could feel coming.

"You're wrong, Rikku," his response took me completely by surprise. Nearly getting whiplash I turned to try and examine his face for answers as he looked out onto the moonlit waters. "All of those things you said, Rikku, you were on other people's paths. What have you done for yourself? Rikku, you've done things to please Cid, Yuna, the Al Bhed. Those things had nothing to do with your path, but this is your story. It's time for you to figure out where your path is leading to."

I had to laugh, "You're so much better than Brother. Did you know that?"

Tidus grinned, "Thanks for the reassurance. So, what do you want, Rikku? What do you want to live happily ever after at the end of your journey?"

Darn him and his persistence. When did he become so intuitive anyway? "I want what **you** have," I couldn't help but mumble. He and Yunie had everything going for them. At the end of his journey, she was there, and he at the end of hers. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tidus squirming to move away nonchalantly. Subtlety never was Tidus's forte. I cocked an eyebrow, "What the heck are you doing?"

"Well, Rikku, I don't want to hurt your feeling or anything, but I love Yuna. We're getting married soon, and nothing can change that. You and I could never be more than friends and cousin-in-laws. Do you understand?" _What?_

_He couldn't possibly think… _"Gross, Tidus!" I thought I was going to hurl! Seriously, we were practically related! Who did he think I was? Brother? "That's sick!" Turning away, I pushed him for even thinking that I would-. When I heard a splash I realized I had thrown him off balance and knocked him into the water. "Oh, shoot! I'm so sorry!" Laughing, I helped to pull him out of the water. He just knocked the side of his head to get the water out of his ear before laughing too and telling me that it was his mistake.

"I only meant I want the kind of relationship you and Yunie have with Gippal," I looked at him as if the thought of me being with my cousin's boyfriend would make me physically ill, but I slapped a hand over my mouth when I realized what his wide eyes and dropped jaw was regarding. Way to go, Rikku! Just come out and spill the beans, why don't ya?

"Wait a second, Gippal, Machine Faction leader in the Tri-counsel, Gippal? Don't you hate him? This is so confusing. Where did this settling down with him stuff come from? The thought hadn't even crossed my mind that you wanted to settle down at all, let alone with any particular person," Tidus blurted all this out a shocked and curious expression.

After seeing me looking down at the waters beneath us with remorse for my big mouth, Tidus recovered quickly and cleared his throat, "When I met this guy, he seemed like a real ladies' man. Do you think that he might want to settle down with you too?" His expression was a lot more serious than usual, and I knew he meant business.

There was no lying to one of my best friends, and he could give me some good advice too... "Tidus, Gippal and I, we have a past. It was before I even met you actually." The time had come to look back on all those frustratingly upsetting memories, and I was not going to enjoy reliving them.

"Home was where Gippal and I grew up together, among others like Brother and Nhadala, you know. When I was about fourteen and him fifteen, we started to see each other in a different light. He and I would sneak out of home at night and go star gazing a little distance away. After a while, he started making a habit of holding my hand, and of course I was head over heels and would never object. Before long I started to notice that he would always tease me around everyone else just like he did every other girl at Home. When we were alone, I was special, but around everyone else I was just another cute girl to flirt with," I laughed, even though there was nothing funny about it.

"The sneaking out stopped when I wised up that it might have been just a game to him. About a year later, when I was fifteen, I would find him kissing girls all the time. He never saw me though. (My stealth was just as good then as it is now.) It really hurt, seeing him kiss them. As much time as he and I spent alone together after curfew, we never kissed, and then there he was, kissing all those other girls. Then I knew I hadn't been special to him at all, and I was just another blonde he could exploit," I took a deep breath, trying to gather up the strength to continue, but knowing that the hardest past was over.

"Even though we no longer spent time alone together, we would spend time together through our mutual friends. In time, though I was still pained by the sight of him with other girls, just the two of us would hang out. The awkwardness was still there, but I think we hid it pretty well. After spending more and more time together, he started calling me Cid's Girl, and we became a shadow of what we once were. That's the way things went for a while, but one day, he up and left without so much as a word to me. He'd taken off to join in the fight against Sin. Naturally I thought he'd gone and joined the crusaders, but well, we already told you about the Crimson Squad fiasco.

"He crossed my mind from time to time, but instead of letting my mind dwell on his hurtful disappearing act, I went to work. You and I met not too long after I'd started excavating underwater machina, and I'll bet you know the rest from there," I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye and pretended I needed to tuck a loose hair behind my ear. Wondering what he could possibly be thinking, my eyes hesitantly glanced his way.

Tidus ran his hands through his hair as he looked up at the few stars starting to appear, "After everything that's happened you want to be with him now? Like I said earlier, I figured on him being a ladies' man, and your story kind of proves my point. How do you know that he hasn't grown out of it?"

"Tidus, in the time I've spent with him after the defeat of Vegnagun, I can see he's not the playboy he was before. Don't you think it's possible, I mean, maybe he's grown up after all?" hearing him sigh, I knew it was hard for him to hear. My once fellow guardian and all-around Yuna protector had become the brother I'd always wanted, but instead all I got was a psycho, tattoo, Mohawk…guy! Talking to Tidus like this, made it really seem as if he thought of me as maybe the sister he never had.

Tidus put an arm around me and gave me a little squeeze, "Oh, it's more than possible, and I have no doubt you are the perfect person to figure out the answer. For now how about you just focus on not getting yourself kidnapped or killed, alright? What would I do without my chipper, little future cousin-in-law?"

Hopping up to my feet, my hands instantly on my hips, I sized up as much as possible, "You would all be doomed without the behind-the-scenes thief on call!" We both laughed as he stood up and brushed his shorts off.

Our laughing didn't last for very long, when something that looked like a star started hurdling towards us. Whatever it was, the huge object landed haphazardly on the beach. After looking at each other for a split second, the two of us raced of to see what had crashed or been close to it.

The both of us got quite a shock upon seeing an airship clumsily landed on the sand, much too close to my own airship for comfort. "Who the-…?" Before I could even finish my thought the large hatch opened. Gippal didn't even let the hatch reach the ground before he hopped out of the large door and landed in front of us.

"Hey," My mouth gaped open until Gippal pushed it closed, "we need to talk."

**Author's Notes:** This took me **so **long to write! I'm just going to let the chapter speak for itself, and only apologize for it coming so late!

Thanks to last chapter's reviewers! I'm anxious to hurry up and get this out, so I'll just list your names.

Emmy-miester, Jezzi, oOoDancingQueenoOo, Twistyness, Fanfic-Lover, Angry Girl, witchyinuyashagurl, Lady Sonora the Black-Rose


	9. Revelations and Confessions

Life has been pretty crazy recently for me. School and extracurricular activities were my focus, but now, as the song goes, "School's out for summer!"

Disclaimer: If I owned FFX-2, I would probably not be typing this, but making a FFX-3 based on Rikku.

**Revelations and Confessions**

Have you ever had so much to say, but couldn't find the perfect opportunity to speak from your heart? Gippal told me we needed to talk, but the phrase is almost never correct when people use it. 'We need to talk' really means 'I'm going to talk, and you're going to sit there and listen whether you like what I'm saying or not'. And talk he did. The person rapidly filling my thoughts and gaining my affection sure knew how to be an idiot and completely make a fool of himself. Why did the fool stir feelings in me I couldn't contain any longer?

Finding my voice, as well as my other senses, I brushed Gippal's hand from beneath my chin, "Alright then. I'm listening." I crossed my arms and gave him my complete attention. Of course he was going to want to discuss the kiss, especially if it had the same effect on him as it had on me.

But for someone so adamant about talking earlier, he certainly didn't know how to start. For a few moments he just looked at me, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Taking a deep breath, his hand went through his spiky, blonde hair, and, when our eyes met, everything about his uncomfortable position made me laugh out loud, but my laughter and smiles subsided upon seeing the mystified look he was giving me. Apparently he didn't find the situation as amusing as I did.

He took a couple of steps closer, and immediately my mind was filled with the memory of our kiss, my laughter long gone. My arms tensed when he lightly placed his hands on both sides of my neck, imploring me to look directly into his eyes. At least I think that's what he wanted, and how could I do anything but comply and meet his beautiful, swirling eyes with my own? Our lips were mere centimeters apart when someone's wolf whistle pulled me from the trance he had put me under. Crashing back to reality was not fun and quite embarrassing. Turning to look around I could see that there were quite a few spectators who had come to see what the 'crash' was, and ended up finding us a much more interesting show. Gippal had apparently snapped out of it too and cleared his throat to gain my attention again. "Could we possibly go somewhere without an audience?"

My thoughts ran rampant. Where could we possibly go that is isolated, quiet, and completely private? "Zanarkand," I whispered. It's the place of beginnings and endings. I couldn't tell which one this trip with Gippal would turn out to be. And did I even want to be in Zanarkand, completely isolated and private, with Gippal after history almost repeated itself just then? I went with my instinct, _Hell, yeah! _Grabbing his hand, which almost gave me chills in itself, I practically dragged him behind me as I took off toward his airship. "I know a place."

Gippal started a fire as I sat where Yuna and all of us guardians had once spent what we had thought to be our last moments with the summoner. Strange how different my feelings were, seated where I was once bracing myself for the death of someone I loved. At that moment I was bracing myself for whatever Gippal had to say.

After he'd finished making the fire, sitting didn't seem like an option for him as he paced back and forth in front of me. Was this going to be a repeat of what had happened on the beach in Besaid? "Uh, Gippal…" Obviously the guy hadn't planned this out very well, "We're alone. You have my undivided attention, and you're still not saying anything that- "

Gippal took a deep breath and very rudely cut me off with a snappy attitude, "Rikku, I was just trying to get my thoughts together alright? You are so frustrating, you know that?" _Excuse me? _"You never just shut up and listen, Cid's Girl, and you're making me lose my mind!" _This is what I came to Zanarkand to hear from Gippal? I get on his **nerves**?_ With that thought I rose, completely prepared to ride off into the sunset in his airship, leaving him to either starve or freeze to death. Either way I was being nice. He said I was frustrating, but talk about leading a girl on! What a jerk!

As I was making another fabulous exit, something struck me from behind, and everything got really blurry and dark. Turning around and attempting to make out the blur that was Gippal, I was ready to take him out, and not on a date. "What the heck do you think you're doing? I do believe I kicked Vegnagun's butt to save your sorry hide, and now you bring me here, insult me, and attack me? You just made a grave mistake, Gippal! ES- " Before I could cast Esuna he hit me again! Fully prepared to scream at him again before throttling the life out of him, I figured out this time he'd silenced me. Reaching for an item, I struggled to keep my belt on. That's right. The freak was taking my items. At this point he had **really** pissed me off.

Half blind or not, I made out his form and went at him. I heard him groan and cheered inside at getting one hit in, but do you know how hard it is to battle without being able to see, speak to cast spells, or use any items? He grabbed my wrists and tied them together. What was Gippal thinking, doing that to me? After getting attacked and mugged I certainly didn't care to hear whatever he wanted to say and didn't want to make it easy for him. "Rikku, if you'll just stop struggling I'll put in some eye drops, alright? You're going to have to stay silenced though, so you'll have to listen to me." _Whatever._ Relenting seemed to be the only way to regain my sight. _I was expecting romance, not whatever this is!_

I ended up lying down, propped up on Gippal's arm as he gently placed the eye drops into my eyes. Blinking the clouds from my vision, I was able to decipher Gippal's face, hovering over mine. I huffed and put on the maddest face I could muster, but he just smiled down at me. Why did he have to be so darn adorable? This night definitely hadn't turned out the way I'd planned. He cleared his throat and helped me sit up, but didn't free me from those stupid restraints around my wrists or give me my voice back.

"It's time you knew the truth, Cid's Girl, and I think it would be best to start at the beginning."

All that struggling had to have been worth what he was about to tell me. 'Start at the beginning' of what was my question. "I don't think you have a clue how significant you are. Calling you 'Cid's Girl' is just like calling you 'Princess'." I made a sour face, showing my obvious distaste of both nicknames. "Yes, I know you don't like either, but it's who you are. Everyone seems to know how important you are but you. About four years ago, when we were younger, and well, I guess you could say we were _together_, it wasn't important to me that I was spending all those nights in the desert with the girl who would one day be the leader of the Al Bhed. You were just fun-loving Rikku to me, and I never thought of you as anything else. It never mattered to you, as far as I know, that I was just a mechanic with little to no background and paled in comparison to you." Of course I never considered that when I was with him. I shook my head to try and tell him that, but he just chuckled, "Yeah, I know."

"You see, the thing is, our lineage might not have been a big deal to us, but it was obvious to everyone else. Whenever I went places I would hear people talking about Cid and his sons and you. How would people have treated me if I had ever called you my girlfriend? I'll be honest. I freaked out when I realized how important you were, and how different things would be if our relationship was public knowledge. So, I treated you like just any another girl when other people were around. Everything was going fine, but then you informed me that our little 'outings' were going to stop. It was really awful, because you were probably the best friend I had. Stupidly, I thought a best friend is not the best person to have a relationship with, considering I lost my best friend and girlfriend, therefore my 'womanizing days' began." I rolled my eyes and sighed. _I am really enjoying this history lesson…not._

He scratched his chin and got that annoying smirk on his face, "There were so many; I can't really remember many names…" My left eye started to twitch, and if my eyes could shoot killer laser beams, nothing would be left of Gippal but a small pile of dust. Oh, how I wanted my eyes to shoot killer laser beams! "But that's because none of them really meant anything to me. After a while we would hang out, and I was happy again, being with you. No one else gave me the butterflies like you did. I figured out that I didn't like being with all those other girls; I wanted to be with you. People started to take notice of us spending time with each other. Hanging out with you also meant I would be acquainted with the more prominent Al Bhed, like Rin and Cid. Your old man never did like me. Did you know that?" I shook my head again, all thoughts of laser beams long gone.

My eyes were probably wide and full of tears, cause the idiot looked at me and sighed, "Don't give me that look, Cid's Girl." I couldn't really help it though! My puppy dog eyes were the result of him revealing all this stupid stuff, and it made me all touched and mushy, darn it! He went on though, "It didn't mean much to me anyway, Cid's opinion. You liked hanging out with me, and I liked being around you more than anyone. But everything changed. Rikku, your father called me into his office at Home one day. For the first time I felt murderous." Alright, he had me on the edge of my seat. What was it that Pops had told Gippal to make him so angry? Even when he spoke to me of it, his voice was laced with venom, bitterness evident in his expression.

"Cid hasn't to this day told you why I left without telling you. He told me why I couldn't be with you anymore, why we couldn't be together. Your old man gave me some cash for transportation after telling me he had already made arrangements for his little girl's future. He'd found someone to lead the people by your side." _What the **hell**?_ "Rikku, he arranged a marriage for you."Stunned was the understatement of the century. As soon as the shock wore off, I got up and began screaming many profane things that Yuna would scold me for saying.

Of course I wasn't saying anything audible, but I think Gippal understood the extent of my anger. He came over and placed his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to sit back down, and on my shoulders his hands remained. "He convinced me I wasn't the person to lead at your side, and the perfect person for the position had already been found. I had no place in your life. When I realized that, I had no choice but to take Cid's offer and be off on the next hover out. He told me it would be best not to say anything to you on my way out." Then I was feeling murderous. Gippal's gentle hands were the only thing keeping me from losing it. I looked at the ground, imagining my father, and then the killer laser beams coming from my eyes.

"Rikku, look at me," when I saw the look in his eyes, I thought my heart would stop. "I never wanted to leave, and now your father and I know how wrong we both were- him for telling me to leave and choosing a husband for you, and me for listening to him. The Al Bhed hand picked by your father to be your husband was at Home the day it was destroyed. His name was Maliuun, and he and all his men were working in the mechanic rooms, deep under the surface. When they finally made it to the surface level during the Yevonites' attack, they rushed into the desert and had almost escaped when the missiles hit, and Home was demolished. All of them were killed in the explosion, but…" He took a deep breath, "Apparently they had a reason to stick around." I gasped, "Yes, they became unsent. Now they refer to themselves as 'Dra Nashyhdc'. That's all Cid has told me about him, although your old man knows all about his background from before he died. We've both agreed that he being unsent has something to do with you." Pointing to myself, I mouthed, 'Me?' Gippal had to go and be a smarty pants, "Of course you, Rikku! He's trying to take you away and make you his bride! You were promised to him long ago by your father, and he won't let death keep him from having you." If this wasn't a psycho we were talking about, that might've actually sounded romantic. I smiled slightly and blushed at the thought of someone overcoming death just to be with me. Gippal wasn't very happy to say the least. Immediately he got up and gave me a good stern look, his hands on his hips and eyes narrowed. "Are you actually flattered by this guy, Princess? What are you- " He let out a frustrated groan, and his hands immediately went through his hair.

Then the pacing started again, and the big oaf went back to the insults, "You know what? You kill me with your peppy, bouncy attitude, the way you dress, your whiny voice, and your temper tantrums are the worst! Everything you do drives me crazy!" _If I just keep thinking of laser beams, I'll eventually be able to shoot them out of my eyes. Just keeping thinking of killer laser beams… _"So now I can't help but be crazily, frustratingly, stupidly, confusingly, uncontrollably, irresistibly-" I was wondering if there was a point, when he reached around me and cut my restraints, taking my hands in his. He sighed, and his clipped tone softened and became sweet and gentle, "Amazingly, breath-takingly, passionately, mind blowingly, hopelessly, beautifully, completely, deeply, whole-heartedly, madly in love with you."

_Whoa._

**Author's Notes: **Summer's here and hopefully that'll give me more time. I actually have quite a load of summer assignments. Yes, it sucks, but I'm one of those people who never rebels and such. Maybe that's why I like Rikku so much, but anyhow, I'll try to update more often I promise. This chapter had a lot of revealing of plot and confessing! I feel like I ran a marathon after finishing this puppy up! So, I guess I'll see you next time, and please drop me a review. Pretty please?

A very special thank you to all of last chapter's reviewers, and I love you people!

Sonora Faye, Jezzi, witchyinuyashagurl, Fanfic-Lover, and marajade963


	10. Confused and Conflicted

Then he made me start looking like a fish

A lot has happened since I last updated, the most important event being my first year of college. There isn't a lot to excuse the shortness or lateness of the chapter, but I hope you enjoy the update.

Disclaimer: FFX-2 and its characters do not belong to me, as much as I wish it were so.

**Confused and Conflicted**

_Whoa._

I broke eye contact and started looking off in every different direction. What could I say to that? I needed to do some fast retracing. First I was head over heels for the boy when we lived at Home. He left me broken hearted. I helped destroy Sin. We met again when I was registering as a digger with the Gullwings. Spira was in danger again, and we teamed up to save it. After the defeat of Vegnagun he became my boss, and I felt like I had that silly crush all over again. Then he really pissed me off by keeping secrets, and I left him. Later I found out how much he really cared and missed me. And that's when...That stupid kiss wasn't supposed to mean anything! Or was it? Of course it wasn't! All I wanted was my cursed keys! But the kiss wasn't stupid. It was…amazing. I ran again, and the gorgeous idiot followed close behind and confessed his love for me.

I cared about him- no question. Butterflies invaded my stomach when I thought about him, and that was often. And the kiss? Best moment of my life would have been an understatement. Well, maybe it took a close third to saving the world twice. But did that mean I was in love? Obviously Gippal had given some previous thought to this confession considering how he described it so beautifully after his terrible opening.

Feeling Gippal's warm hands move from mine to the sides of my face, I heard him speak quietly, "Rikku, you have to say something before I go insane. It doesn't even have to be that you love me, but that maybe you could. We belong together, Rikku, and I'd do anything to prove it to you. I'll wait as long as it takes if you need me to, but please, give me some hope," he scoffed a little, "and not the false kind."

Just staring into his eyes I could tell how sincere and real his love for me was. I opened my mouth to say, well, I'm not entirely sure, but it was then we both remembered I had been silenced. As he fumbled to obtain an echo screen from my pouch, my heart took over for my head, and suddenly I felt my lips pressing softly against his. It wasn't an answer, but it was hope. My head was swimming. Why did kissing Gippal have to feel so damn amazing?

He dropped my belt and brought his hands back to my face. I couldn't think of anything but, _Is this what I've been missing? Is this happiness?_ As we softly pulled away to look at each other, I realized that he really did make me happy. So what if he kept secrets from me? Who doesn't have skeletons in their closet? There's a hell of a lot I won't be sharing with him about what I was doing after he left Home. Biting my lower lip, I softly stroked his scruffy jaw. His grin was less cocky this time and more exuberant, like he was going to burst with joy. I have a feeling my expression mirrored his, but it faltered. I didn't want anything to mess this up, and I was still being tracked…

"Rikku, what's wrong?" Gippal stroked my loose hair. I thought about my talk with Tidus, about my journey. Gippal was the one I wanted waiting for me at the end, but could being with him during the adventure put him in danger? The group that was after me, "Dra Nashyhdc"…These were obviously some very shady characters. If they were willing to knock me out by suffocation, who knows what they would do to Gippal if he stood in their way? After all, this Mal-whatever wanted me alive to be his wife, but what would happen if he found out Gippal was a threat in more ways than one?

"Rikku?" He was searching my face, and I choked back tears. Tears are for weaklings, and that thought made it even harder to keep them from falling. If he stayed with me, his life would be in constant danger, not just his freedom. Why did he have to confess his love for me when I was the object of a bridal hunt? Shaking my head frantically, I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't form words. Even if I wasn't silenced, I'm not sure I would have been able to speak anyway. My eyes met his worried gaze, and I offered a weak smile before taking the Sleeping Powder I'd managed to smuggle unnoticed out of my pouch and throwing it directly into his face. Luckily the hurt didn't have time to register on his face before he was fast asleep next to the fire.

Okay. So, I hadn't thought very far ahead. I paced back and forth in front of him, trying to decide the best course of action. Leaving him in Zanarkand would be leaving him to the mercy of the crazy monkeys that lived there. After much frustrating thought, I pulled on my belt and began to drag the unconscious Gippal to his airship. It was a good thing I was so strong for a girl my size, or I would have had to either leave him there, or face the awkward situation of letting him wake up and have to explain my actions. Nevertheless, I eventually heaved him onto the lift and brought him to the bridge.

There was no way I could let him put his life in danger. I could barely take care of myself, let alone keep an eye on him too! Of course he would think he could take care of himself, but it would fall on my shoulders, as it always does, to save him, or whoever happened to need saving. Firing up the engines, I set the course for the beach of Besaid. The beach would be his last spot on this adventure.

In my mind, I knew what I was doing was the right thing to do, but my heart still didn't want to let him go. Maybe I did love him. But that was yet another problem for me to solve. I don't want to "maybe love" someone. I always thought I would just know. Placing a sphere beside him and kissing his cheek softly, I pushed my confused feelings to the back of my mind. There would be plenty of time to reflect on those once I'd gotten into my new disguise. Still, leaving him was difficult, but with my fellow ex-guardians I had a plan. Hopping off his ship, my feet led me to Yunie's where I said goodbye to my most cherished friends. I would keep in touch with them this time, but only because Yunie made the arrangements. She could be such a mother hen some times.

Gippal would be awake in a few hours, but this Princess was already a few thousand feet in the air, settled into her comfy airship, and on her way to her latest hideaway. Putting the ship on autopilot, I was able to change into a dressphere more suited to my location change, considering how crazy cold it was in Gagazet.

**Author's Note: **Sorry? Does that cover for my ridiculously long absence? No? Well, maybe you'll forgive me someday, and I know this very short chapter doesn't help. It's an important chapter, but it's also a sort of transition chapter. Don't hate me too much. Thank you for everyone that's encouraged me to continue. I hope you aren't disappointed!


End file.
